Dan Hopwood Daniel Hopwood Ltd

Memories of China - Holland Park, London

Having lived in his London pied-á-terre as a student, the Singapore based client liked the flat but as it was in the eaves of the building, it seemed fairly small. His wife, from China, was less keen especially when they discovered they were expecting a baby. Studio Hopwood were called in to help and Daniel used his experience to introduce some clever techniques which made the apartment appear bigger. Colours, furniture and decoration were also used to introduce a Chinese feel to the flat.

As their first child was on the way, and the apartment was regularly used by friends and family while the couple were away, durability was an important factor in the redesign. Daniel made some seemingly small changes, which had a major impact on the perceived size and space in the flat. A wall in the entrance hall was removed and replaced with a glass balustrade; all doorways were made taller so the rooms appeared to flow into one another; rugs were dropped into the oak floor so they sat flush and radiators were installed into wall recesses. All helped to give the apartment a more spacious look and feel.

Other changes included using a living-room console table as a hall table and adding two chairs to transform it into a dining table. A fold-down desk was added to the second bedroom so it could double as a study and a connecting door between that room and the master bedroom meant it could also function as a dressing room.According to Feng Shui principles, the television disappears into a panel above the fireplace. By using black lacquer, gold and bronze wallpapers and a “touch of red here and there”, the apartment has Chinese style without being laboured.

The master bedroom connects to the second bedroom to function as a dressing room.

A wall was removed and replaced with a glass balustrade.

Rugs were dropped into the oak floor to sit flush.

The television 'disappears' into a panel, according to Feng Shui principles.